In Great Britain, can Christians be fired for wearing a cross?

Well, sure. Why not? After all, unlike the Muslim hijab, there is no "requirement" that Christians wear a cross, says the British government.

In what is bound to be a controversial move, the British government is set to argue at the European Court of Human Rights that Christians do not have the right to wear a cross or crucifix openly at work.

Critics are already calling it another blow to Christianity for restricting its symbols of faith while granting special status to symbols of other religions such as the Sikh turban and kara (bracelet), or the Muslim hijab.

The London Telegraph has revealed ministers will argue that because it is not a "requirement" of the Christian faith, employers can ban the wearing of the cross and sack workers who insist on doing so.

Judges in Strasbourg will hear the test case on religious freedom in Britain later this year. It will bring together four separate cases, including that of Nadia Eweida, who works for British Airways. Her case dates from 2006 when she was suspended for refusing to take off the cross which her employers claimed breached BA's uniform code.

In a surprise move Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, added fuel to the fire when he said the cross for many Christians is little more than jewellery, "which religious people make and hang on to" as a substitute for true faith.

Williams also wants to see sharia law in Great Britain so anything he says about his own faith can be dismissed as the rantings of a lunatic.

It is a sad commentary that a civilization that once treasured and valued human liberty now makes a continental case out of someone expressing their religious beliefs in public.

Well, sure. Why not? After all, unlike the Muslim hijab, there is no "requirement" that Christians wear a cross, says the British government.

In what is bound to be a controversial move, the British government is set to argue at the European Court of Human Rights that Christians do not have the right to wear a cross or crucifix openly at work.

Critics are already calling it another blow to Christianity for restricting its symbols of faith while granting special status to symbols of other religions such as the Sikh turban and kara (bracelet), or the Muslim hijab.

The London Telegraph has revealed ministers will argue that because it is not a "requirement" of the Christian faith, employers can ban the wearing of the cross and sack workers who insist on doing so.

Judges in Strasbourg will hear the test case on religious freedom in Britain later this year. It will bring together four separate cases, including that of Nadia Eweida, who works for British Airways. Her case dates from 2006 when she was suspended for refusing to take off the cross which her employers claimed breached BA's uniform code.

In a surprise move Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, added fuel to the fire when he said the cross for many Christians is little more than jewellery, "which religious people make and hang on to" as a substitute for true faith.

Williams also wants to see sharia law in Great Britain so anything he says about his own faith can be dismissed as the rantings of a lunatic.

It is a sad commentary that a civilization that once treasured and valued human liberty now makes a continental case out of someone expressing their religious beliefs in public.